Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Espenyalluchs comes from a one-hectare plot planted with a massal selection from Vinya dels Taus, an alluvial stony place with clay at 400 meters above sea level, a place where, in the past, they only planted Parellada because there was no experience with Xarel.lo at that altitude. The wine ferments and matures for nine months in the oldest 300-liter barrels they have. It's elegant and nuanced, quite Burgundian and with a cool-climate feeling to it, remarkable in a year like 2023. It's clean and precise, with contained ripeness, 12.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.05 and 6.9 grams of acidity, denoting superb freshness. It's a triumph over the adverse conditions of the year. Bravo!
Primarily associated with the Penedès region of Spain, Xarel-lo plays an important role in most Cava blends along with Parellada and Macabeo. Prized for its high levels of acidity and polyphenols, Xarel-lo adds strength, body and a distinct greengage or earthy character to these blends. Somm Secret—Just a few miles northeast of Barcelona, Xarel-lo vineyards around the town of Alella produce highly regarded still wines with fresh lemon and stone fruit flavors.
A superior source of white grapes for the production of Spain’s prized sparkling wine, Cava, the Penedes region is part of Catalunya and sits just south of Barcelona. Medio Penedès is the most productive source of the Cava grapes, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada. Penedes also grows Garnacha and Tempranillo (here called Ull de Llebre in Catalan), for high quality reds and rosès.